Study: taking antidepressants dulls emotions
Miscellaneous / / April 06, 2023
Previously, there were suspicions that such an effect is one of the symptoms of depression.
Popular antidepressants can cause emotional numbing, according to new research from scientists in the UK, Denmark, China and elsewhere. Scientific article, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, is based on an experiment involving 66 healthy volunteers.
Participants took escitalopram or placebo for 21 days or more, after which their condition was assessed in comparison with the beginning of the experiment. It was a blind, randomized study: neither the volunteers nor the scientists knew what each participant was getting.
The study showed that healthy volunteers became less susceptible to positive and negative emotional impact after taking escitalopram. This became noticeable in the reinforcement learning test. Participants were shown two options on the screen: A and B. Choice A was rewarding 4 times out of 5, while choice B only 1 out of 5. After several moves, the participants began to choose only A. At some point, the winning percentage was reversed. Noticing this, the participants began to choose another option. At the same time, the group of people who took antidepressants reacted to the changes and changed their choice much later.
The "dulling" of negative emotions may be part of how these types of drugs help people with depression, and may also explain a common side effect. According to earlier research, up to 60% of those taking the drug experience this, but until now it was not clear whether this is a symptom of depression or a side effect of antidepressants. Another common side effect in study participants was difficulty achieving orgasm.
It is noteworthy that in tests of attention and memory, taking escitalopram did not have a significant effect, so the drug does not cause a decrease in cognitive abilities.
Oxford University professor Katherine Harmer notedthat the study provides new information about the popular antidepressant, which is important to consider when prescribing the drug. They also noted that the manifestation of this effect in 60% of patients may be an exaggeration. According to her, it is important to understand that the conclusion should not be “do not take this medicine”: the reaction in different people will be different, and the drug continues to help people, despite the risk of side effects. effects.
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